Warriors Notes: Durant, Draft, Thompson, Summer League
Kevin Durant is doing “a lot of soul searching” as he decides whether to stay with the Warriors or leave for the Knicks or Nets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on tonight’s draft preview show (hat tip to Real GM). Woj adds that all three teams are willing to give Durant a max offer even though he is expected to miss all of next season with a ruptured Achilles.
New York has been considered the strongest threat to take Durant away from Golden State, but tonight’s report indicates that he is also giving serious consideration to Brooklyn, where he likely can join forces with his close friend Kyrie Irving. With at least three max offers awaiting, it’s virtually certain that Durant will opt out of his $31.5MM salary for next season.
There’s more Warriors news to pass along:
- GM Bob Myers tells Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News that he will focus on talent over need in tomorrow’s draft, even though the team suddenly has a lot of holes to fill. In addition to Durant, who may not be back at all, Golden State has to replace Klay Thompson, who will miss most of the year with a torn ACL, and possibly free agent big men DeMarcus Cousins, Kevon Looney and Jordan Bell. “Good young players, whatever position they are,” will be the focus, Myers said. “Those players have the most value in the NBA – rookie contract players that show themselves to have a skill and can play. Especially next year, we afford more opportunity for who we pick. Maybe we get a guy who can step in. We will have more opportunity next year. No matter what happens in free agency, we’ll have more of an opportunity for a young guy.” The Warriors have also become more likely to buy extra picks, Myers said.
- Thompson is waiting for the swelling in his knee to subside before having surgery, Medina adds. Myers didn’t offer any medical update on Durant, whose surgery was last week.
- Alen Smailagic is a strong candidate to go to Golden State with the No. 58 pick, according to Medina. The Serbian big man spent this season with the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
- Jacob Evans will be part of Golden State’s Summer League team, Myers tells Medina, while Alfonzo McKinnie, who has a $1.6MM team option for next season, won’t play but will be training in Las Vegas.
Latest On The Mike Conley Trade
The Jazz had been targeting Mike Conley for months before pulling off today’s trade with Memphis, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Utah made a strong push to get Conley before the February deadline, offering Ricky Rubio, two first-round picks and other expiring contracts that would have provided the Grizzlies with cap relief this summer.
Jones cites “frustration” among Jazz management, which believed Conley would be a difference maker in the postseason, when the offer wasn’t accepted. Utah finished with the fifth seed and a first-round playoff ouster.
“What we found out this year,” Jazz executive Dennis Lindsey said after the season ended, “is that while we were a good team, we weren’t a great team.”
The organization sees Conley as a path to becoming great, viewing him as one of the best pick-rand-roll guards in the league and a strong leader in the locker room. The Jazz were willing to pay a heavy price in the deal, giving up Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver and Grayson Allen, plus this year’s first-round pick and a future conditional first-rounder. Sources tell Jones the Grizzlies insisted on Allen because they wanted “a young player with upside” and were impressed by how he improved during the season.
There’s more fallout from today’s trade:
- The Pistons and Pacers were both contenders for Conley, but were unwilling to surrender two first-round picks, reports Zach Lowe of ESPN. Sources tell Lowe that even if the Pistons had agreed to meet that price, they might have insisted that Memphis take back Reggie Jackson and his $18MM contract. The Pacers, meanwhile, refused to give up the picks plus first-year guard Aaron Holiday.
- The Jazz needed to send enough salary to Memphis to enable them to guarantee Derrick Favors‘ $16.9MM contract for next season without going over the salary cap, Lowe adds. He states that the decision to include Crowder in the deal instead of Dante Exum shows a lot of faith in the 23-year-old guard.
- Lowe also notes that the trade will have a ripple effect on free agency. Utah no longer has the cap space for a max-level offer, which means one less suitor for the Sixers’ Tobias Harris. Point guards who had been hoping for an offer from Utah will also be disappointed. In addition, the trade increases the likelihood that the pick the Grizzlies owe the Celtics won’t convey until 2021, when it will be unprotected. The selection has top-six protection next year.
- Donovan Mitchell is thrilled to have Conley as his new backcourt partner, tweets Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. “He’s a great player,” Mitchell said. “He’s very underrated in my opinion. He does a lot of getting into the lane and being able to find guys and also I can learn a lot from him so as far as being a point guard.”
Wizards To Offer Extension To Bradley Beal?
The Wizards seem ready to put an end to Bradley Beal trade rumors by offering a contract extension to their All-Star guard. In a video tweeted by Wizards Film Room, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says Washington will make the three-year, $111MM offer when Beal becomes eligible next month.
If he were to accept the Wizards’ offer, a three-year extension would put Beal under contract for the next five seasons, which should be prime years for the 25-year-old. He posted career highs in points (25.6 per game), rebounds (5.0) and assists (5.5) while playing all 82 games this year.
Beal has been the subject of trade speculation in recent weeks, with the Pelicans and Lakers among the teams showing interest. There were thoughts that the Wizards might want to trim salary and start rebuilding in the wake of an Achilles injury to John Wall that might keep out all of next season. With Wall’s super-max contract running through 2022/23, he and Beal appear to be the foundation of the team for the foreseeable future.
The Wizards will be better equipped to handle Beal’s higher salary once Ian Mahinmi‘s $15.6MM contract and Dwight Howard‘s $5.4MM deal expire after next season, notes Mike Stearman of NBC Sports Washington. The team is expected to ease its cap crunch for next year by turning down Jabari Parker‘s $20MM option and may not re-sign free agent Bobby Portis.
Draft Rumors: Knicks, Barrett, Herro, Porter, More
Although they brought in Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland for a last-minute workout today, the Knicks remain locked in on selecting Duke forward R.J. Barrett with the No. 3 overall pick, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
With just over 24 hours to go until the 2019 NBA draft, rumors continue to trickle in about which prospects other teams might be targeting with their first-round picks. Jeremy Woo and Jake Fischer of SI.com suggest that league sources believe the Celtics – who hold Nos. 14, 20, and 22 – have serious interest in Kentucky sharpshooter Tyler Herro. The SI duo also reports that the Spurs – who pick at 19 and 29 – are among the teams with real interest in Croatian forward Luka Samanic.
Woo and Fischer share a few more tidbits in their latest mock draft, writing that the Hornets, Heat, and Celtics are all showing “a degree of interest” in USC’s Kevin Porter Jr., who could be in play to come off the board near the end of the lottery.
League sources also tell SI.com that the Magic have put the No. 46 pick on the trade block and could sell it, with the Lakers, Wizards, and Trail Blazers among the teams believed to have interest in purchasing a second-rounder.
Here’s more on the draft:
- Kevin Porter Jr. (USC), Nicolas Claxton (Georgia), and Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State) have received last-minute invites to the Green Room for Thursday’s NBA draft, reports ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter links). That increases the number of prospects expected to be in attendance in the Green Room to 23, Givony notes.
- Speaking today to reporters, including Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link), Texas center Jaxson Hayes said he only worked out for two teams, the Bulls and Hawks, during the pre-draft process. Those clubs hold three top-10 picks between them.
- UNC guard Coby White also confirmed his pre-draft workouts today, as Gina Mizell of The Athletic relays (via Twitter). White worked out for four lottery teams, including the Suns and Bulls, who are both believed to be in the market for a point guard.
- Terry Harris, the younger brother of pending free agent Tobias Harris, is seeing his stock rise, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays (Twitter link). The younger Harris has worked out for the Suns and Thunder, among many other teams.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Mavericks Considered Favorites For Al Horford?
4:01pm: Asked by Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News if the report on Horford and the Mavericks is accurate, a league source replied, “Not really.” However, that source didn’t offer any further clarification, tweets Townsend.
1:40pm: Al Horford is expected to leave the Celtics for a new team in free agency, and according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, league sources consider the Mavericks the favorites to land the veteran big man.
As O’Connor writes, the Lakers and Clippers are also said to have interest in Horford, but they’ll likely be setting their sights on higher-end targets such as Kawhi Leonard. The Nets have also been cited as a potential suitor for Horford.
Dallas would be an intriguing landing spot for the 33-year-old center. The Mavericks have the cap flexibility necessary to make a competitive offer to Horford without compromising their ability to extend Dwight Powell or lock up Kristaps Porzingis to a long-term contract. Those three bigs would provide balance and versatility at both ends of the floor for the Mavs.
Horford will reportedly seek a four-year contract on the open market, and one report indicated that he may even be looking to surpass $100MM on his new deal. That’d be a significant investment for a player entering his mid-30s who battled some nagging health issues last season, but the Mavs have shown in the past that they’re not shy about committing big money to second-tier free agents. They signed Wesley Matthews and Harrison Barnes to four-year, maximum-salary contracts in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Thunder Increasing Efforts To Shed Salary
The Thunder have increased their efforts to reduce team salary for the 2019/20 season, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). According to Fischer, Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder, and Andre Roberson are all “very available,” as is the No. 21 overall pick in Thursday’s draft.
After being on the hook for a league-high luxury tax bill in 2018/19 (reportedly $61.6MM), the Thunder project to be well over the tax line again next season. Currently, the team has committed approximately $144.5MM in guaranteed money to nine players for ’19/20, per Basketball Insiders. The tax threshold is projected to come in at about $132MM.
As I pointed out when I previewed the Thunder’s offseason, team ownership may not be on board with paying another big tax bill for a roster that has been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for three consecutive years.
Attaching the No. 21 pick to the expiring contracts of Roberson ($10.7MM) and/or Patrick Patterson ($5.7MM) would be one way to shed salary. Moving a key rotation player like Adams ($25.8MM) or Schroder ($15.5MM) – both of whom have two years left on their deals – would represent a more drastic cost-cutting measure.
Head of basketball operations Sam Presti has some experience finding creative ways to trim team salary without sacrificing Oklahoma City’s on-court upside. Last summer, he moved Carmelo Anthony‘s $27MM expiring salary for Schroder, substantially reducing the Thunder’s projected tax bill while securing a veteran in Schroder who would play a more significant role than Anthony.
We’ll have to wait to see whether Presti has a mandate to reduce team salary again this summer, and if he can figure out another creative way to do so.
Eastern Notes: Pistons, J. Brown, Ujiri, Hawks, Heat
Pistons head of basketball operations Ed Stefanski said this week that he isn’t going into the offseason looking to move any of the team’s three highest-paid players – Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, and Reggie Jackson – as Rod Beard of The Detroit News details. However, he did admit that he doesn’t have a clear vision yet for what the rest of the Pistons’ offseason will look like.
“The philosophy right now is we have those three and we’re going with them,” Stefanski said. “But I have no idea what (else is) going to happen.”
The Pistons won’t have any cap room available this summer, but they have the No. 15 pick in the draft, the full mid-level exception (worth approximately $9.2MM) and the bi-annual exception ($3.6MM).
While Detroit is expected to try to add a backup center and a wing or two, a source tells Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press that the team’s No. 1 priority will be the point guard spot, with Ish Smith and Jose Calderon headed for free agency. For his part, Stefanski acknowledged that both positions will be of interest to the Pistons this offseason.
“I think free agency is where you look more for (immediate help) than the draft,” Stefanski said, per Ellis. “I think everyone hits it right on the head. We don’t know if we’ll be able to sign Ish, so we need a point guard. We don’t have really a starting wing right now.”
Here’s more from around the East:
- Some teams near the top of the draft are wondering about Jaylen Brown‘s availability, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. There has been no indication that the Celtics would make Brown available, but one report indicated that Boston is among the teams that has considered trading for the No. 4 pick. A player like Brown would likely be needed to make that happen.
- The Raptors would need “significant compensation” to allow president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri to leave the franchise, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (podcast link). The Wizards were rumored to have interest in Toronto’s top executive, but owner Ted Leonsis shot down those reports on Tuesday.
- Holding three first-round picks and three second-rounders heading into Thursday’s draft, Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk recently said he’s more inclined to package and trade his second-round selections, per Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). It wouldn’t surprise me if Atlanta makes deals involving picks from both rounds.
- The Heat officially hired a replacement for Juwan Howard on Erik Spoelstra‘s staff, announcing in a press release that Malik Allen is the club’s newest assistant coach.
- With Anthony Davis – and Mike Conley – now off the trade market, it will be interesting to see whether the Wizards eventually reconsider their stance on keeping Bradley Beal, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. As Hughes points out, Beal might be the most sought-after prize on the trade block if Washington makes him available.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Knicks Rumors: Paul, Davis, Free Agency, Ntilikina
Conflicting reports on the dynamics between Chris Paul and James Harden surfaced on Tuesday, with one report describing their relationship as “unsalvagable,” while GM Daryl Morey declared that everything is fine in Houston.
Regardless on exactly where things stand, the Rockets may be stuck with the pairing for the foreseeable future. There’s “not a team in the league” that’s eager to trade for Paul, Shams Charania of The Athletic said on a recent radio appearance (h/t E.Jay Zarett of Sporting News). The veteran point guard will make approximately $38.5MM next season, $41.4MM in 2020/21, and just over $44.2MM on a 2021/22 player option.
“Even some teams that they’ve called, I’m told, as just a [salary] dump, like, ‘We’ll give you Chris Paul for free,’ those teams are like ‘We’re good,'” Charania said (video link). “So the value just is not there right now.”
The Knicks are apparently one team that has passed on the idea of taking on Paul, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who reports that the Rockets recently explored the idea of trading CP3 into New York’s cap space. The Knicks rebuffed that offer, per O’Connor.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Before the Pelicans agreed to trade Anthony Davis to the Lakers, the Knicks “made overtures” for Davis to join them as a free agent in 2020, a league source tells Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. New Orleans wasn’t believed to be fond of the Knicks’ assets, and New York recognized the futility of trying to acquire AD via trade, Beck notes.
- In a follow-up tweet, Beck wonders if the Knicks’ efforts imply that they don’t expect to land two stars in free agency this summer — the team almost certainly wouldn’t have cap room for Davis in 2020 if two free agents sign max deals this summer.
- Marc Berman of The New York Post, who has previously reported that the Knicks are expected to explore trading Frank Ntilikina for a draft pick, reiterates that the club is “extremely open” to such a deal. New York is still hoping to land a late first-round pick or an early second-rounder for Ntilikina, says Berman.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Wolves Hire David Vanterpool As Associate Head Coach
JUNE 19: The Timberwolves have officially hired Vanterpool, the team announced today in a press release.
“We are thrilled to add someone with David’s coaching acumen and resume to our staff,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said in a statement. “David brings an impressive skillset that will be a great complement to Ryan and the rest of our coaching staff. He played an integral role in Portland’s success, earning a strong reputation as a people connector and relationship builder. In partnership with Ryan, we are confident they will create the best possible environment for our players to succeed on and off the floor.”
JUNE 6: The Timberwolves are hiring David Vanterpool away from the Trail Blazers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Vanterpool will be Ryan Saunders‘ new associate head coach.
As Wojnarowski explains, Vanterpool will play a key role on Saunders’ new staff and will be in charge of running the team’s defense.
Vanterpool, who played basketball professionally up until 2007, became an assistant on CSKA Moscow’s staff following his retirement as a player. He joined the Blazers’ staff when Terry Stotts was hired in 2012 and played a role in the development of Portland’s star guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
Long viewed as an NBA head coaching candidate, Vanterpool reportedly met with the Suns and Cavaliers about their open positions this spring before they hired Monty Williams and John Beilein, respectively. The Timberwolves also reportedly had some interest in Vanterpool as a possible head coach before they decided to retain Saunders.
Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News first reported last week that the Wolves were eyeing Vanterpool as a lead assistant.
Kyle Korver Likely To Return For 17th Season
Kyle Korver has yet to officially announce a decision on his future, but Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link) hears from a source that the sharpshooter is likely to play at least one more season. It’s possible that the 38-year-old continues playing for two more years, Stein adds.
Back in April, it sounded as if Korver was seriously considering hanging up his jersey after 16 years in the NBA.
“There’s a real cost as you get older,” Korver said at the end of Utah’s season. “There’s what you need to put into the game, but there’s also a family cost. That’s probably where I’m at is weighing that cost.”
Korver’s contract runs for one more year, paying him $7.5MM as part of the deal he signed with the Cavaliers in 2017. That figure is only partially guaranteed for $3.44MM up until July 7, however.
Korver will head to Memphis in the Mike Conley deal, which will be completed once the new league year officially begins on July 6. If the rebuilding Grizzlies don’t have Korver in their plans for next season, it’s possible he’ll be flipped to another team or bought out before his salary becomes fully guaranteed, allowing him to join a contender.